ALL ARTISTS

This Blue
Period painting was created after the suicide of Picasso's friend
Carlos Casagemas along with pieces such as "The
Tragedy". The Blue Period stretched from 1901 to 1904 and
was defined by its melancholy subject matter and hues. The painting
depicts a blind beggar in torn and tattered clothes sitting in a
somewhat distorted manner around his guitar. The distortion of his
features and elongated limbs is reminiscent of the work of el greco.
The figure is known to be modeled after a blind artist whom Picasso
knew in Madrid.

The beggar and blind guitarist are not unlike Picasso
as a modern artist. Neither Picasso nor his subject are accepted
by those around him and yet they are dependent upon them. A blind
man playing the guitar must search his soul for inspiration also
much like a modern artist as he attempts to break the shackles of
his classic schooling with nothing to guide him. Though this theme
of alienation seems prevalent in most Blue
Period pieces, it is undeniable that Picasso is also making
something of a critique on society with his somber depiction of
the poor.

Pablo Picasso’s Blue Period refers to the years
1901 to 1904 where Picasso’s art was dominated by sadness,
melancholy, and of course the color blue. The subjects of his paintings
are mainly gaunt street people, prostitutes and beggars. It was
a very rough time in Picasso’s young life, lending powerful
emotion to his work. It is also a very important time in art history
as Picasso was making a transition between the classic art of his
schooling and the art form he would soon create, cubism and abstract
art.